The present invention relates to catheters. In particular, the present invention relates to a catheter device including, a drainage catheter, at least one rigid member, such as a cannula, or a trocar, and a pig-tail straightener.
One problem often encountered in modern medicine relates to volumes of fluids that collect in a patient's tissue, body cavities, or other positions within a patient's body that exceed normal volumes. Collected fluids can contribute to infection, exert harmful pressure on the patient's organs, or otherwise impede the proper care and recovery of a patient. Drainage catheters have long been utilized to drain such excess volumes of fluids from a patient's body. Typically, the catheter is adapted to be introduced into the patient to the site where the excess fluid is accumulated. A plurality of drainage bores are positioned in the distal end of the catheter to allow passage of the fluids and any materials suspended in the fluids from the volume of fluid to the drainage bore of the catheter.
The distal end of drainage catheters are typically adapted to form an anchor configuration to secure the drainage catheter at the site where excess fluid is accumulated. However, the tissue surrounding drainage sites often does not provide a solid or reliable substrate to maintain the position of the catheter. As a result, the anchor configuration of the catheter is typically formed in a relatively large pigtail type loop that provides a reliable anchor regardless of the characteristics of the surrounding tissue. The pigtail loop is formed by curling the tip of the catheter tube such that the tip of the catheter contacts a more proximal position on the catheter tube. This is accomplished utilizing a suture that is threaded between the proximal position and the tip of the catheter. Some examples of such catheters are disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/205,609 filed Aug. 17, 2005 which is incorporated herein by reference. When the suture is foreshortened, the tip of the catheter is securely positioned relative to the proximal position on the catheter tube. A portion of the distal end of the catheter tube between the tip of the catheter and the proximal position where the suture exits the catheter tube forms a resulting pig-tail type loop.
The pig-tail type loop may be formed in the catheter tube such that the catheter tube is biased towards the pig-tail configuration, or the catheter tube may maintain a pig-tail type after the catheter tube has been held in position for some time. In such circumstances, it may be difficult to straighten the pig-tail for insertion or removal. Cannulas, trocars and other rigid members can be inserted into the catheter tube to straighten out the pig-tail. In some cases, the cannula, trocar, or rigid member can be difficult to fully insert because the end of the cannula, trocar, or rigid member may catch on or puncture the wall of the catheter.
One approach has been to place a sleeve, as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,738,667, over the catheter tube. The sleeve can slide along the length of the catheter tube to straighten the pig-tail for insertion or removal. However, these sleeves have the disadvantage of having an abrupt end, which can cause the sleeve to catch on or tear into the catheter member.
What is needed is a device that allows a practitioner to straighten a pig-tail in a catheter tube to allow for easier insertion or removal of the catheter tube while limiting or preventing damage to the catheter tube.